Hyperdimension Neptunia: Soul of Discord
by raidouXVI
Summary: After his impending death, the god of discord made a wish: To open his eyes once more, and see everything the way those mortals who defeated him did. His wish is granted, and he is given a new chance at life. But, a new life never actually meant a peaceful life, didn't it? (Takes place right after Chaos' defeat and death, and starts sometime before Neptunia Victory, and onward.)
1. Graduation Day

_**Greetings, everyone. Welcome to Hyperdimension Neptunia: Soul of Discord, obviously a Hyperdimension Neptunia X Dissidia Crossover. A slight AU on both series has been implemented, although not by that much.**_

_**That is all. Please enjoy yourself.**_

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><p><em>In a part of the eternally expanding universe not yet ventured, stood the great towering figure of a powerful ancient being, whose name has always been feared by the Gods of old, and of the present.<em>

_The ancient one whose is known by the name of Shinryu, an ancient dragon who existed ever since the beginning of time itself. An ancient being once assigned by massive will to a certain task, which no one knows until now._

_And yet, before the mighty Shinryu, stood a soul. A soul that once drowned in the sea of despair, and madness, but now has experienced peace, in the form of its own death in the physical world. However, this was not the soul of any ordinary mortal. Nor was it the soul of a mortal to begin with. It was the soul of a Deity, whose name once caused fear and despair to warriors trapped in an eternal cycle of conflict…_

_It was the soul of one known to many as Chaos, the God of Discord. The one who wrought destruction to many. The one who brought endless deaths and rebirths to many. The one who was hated by many…_

…_Is now nothing but a floating, azure-colored ball shaped soul, harmless to a fault…_

"_Now that our pact has been completed, what is your goal now, God of Discord? You simply do not have the intention of going with me here in the far ends of the universe just to float in front of me, do you not?"_

_Shinryu voices out its curiousity to the floating soul in front of it. The soul of Chaos, if it had a physical form, would have tilted its head slightly to the side. However, since he can't, Chaos just simply lets out a small, carefree laugh, something that he has not done in ages long. It seems that being freed from his miserable fate and body indeed lightened up his heart and soul._

"_Ahaha,_ _indeed, I did not. I am here for a…favor, as you can see…_"

"_Oho? A favor? And what would that be, that you actually went with me to the ends of the universe? Mind telling me about that favor?_"

_Shinryu asked the soul. Indeed, it was surprising to the ancient dragon. Instead of finally succumbing to the peace of death as soul, the God of Discord chose to follow the dragon into its lair, simply just for a favor…_

"_As you can see, I have something that I have wanted to do a long time ago, even before the cycles of war you and my parents perpetrated. It was my dearest wish ever since I realized why I was created, and until now, that wish is still something I deem precious." The soul of Chaos begins to explain, "Ever since the army of Lufenia dragged me into their pointless wars, I've lost all hope for happiness. For me to smile again. To put on that face that my mother always wanted to see. But at that moment, I also realized my most precious wish…" _

_The soul continues with melancholy and sorrow in his voice, "I wanted to be reborn. I want to feel like what it was like to 'live' once more. To truly live life the way I wanted it to, to mold my fate by my own hands, no longer under the whims of others. As what one of my warriors once said: 'This is MY story, and I am the one who gets to decide its beginning and its end.' Even during the time I forgot my wish because of the cycles, that warrior's words remained in my heart and soul, tugging at my emotions every time I remembered it…" The soul of Chaos finishes speaking, sorrow fully evident in his tone._

_Shinryu, surprised by the God of Discord's words, replies with amusement in his voice, "Heh, allow to guess: You need my power for such feat, no?" The ancient dragon gives an amused smirk, his multiple teeth giving an intimidating feel…which did not seem to affect the soul of Chaos in any way, as it was impossible to read his face at the moment, being just a ball of azure light and all that._

"_Yes, I do need your strength. Even with all that I am capable of, reincarnating myself isn't something I can do. On my own, that is. Although I admit, I truly find that ironic, knowing what most living beings call me by." The soul of Chaos amusingly states, earning the spirit a short laugh from the ancient dragon._

"_I can see where you are coming from, for I cannot do that feat unto myself. Even if I wanted to." Shinryu declares, having cut short the laugh from earlier. However, on the dragon's face is a visible smile, or whatever it was that maybe a considered a smile for his standards. The ancient dragon then continues to speak, "Very well, I shall grant that favor of yours, in honor of the fact that you fulfilled your side of the deal during the time of our previous pact, despite its failure. But even so, a duty well done deserves a reward. And giving you that reward is something I shall do. However, there are things that you must know before we begin."_

"_And what would that be, Shinryu?" The soul of Chaos asks, eager to know whatever Shinryu might have in store…_

"_As your powers have their flaws, so does mine. In my case, even after I have reincarnated you, there will be things that will disappear and things that will remain in your soul. Among the things that will disappear are your memories of everything up till now. Being reborn means being cleansed of everything that composed you in your previous life. However, at the same time, that is also where another flaw lies…" Shinryu explains in a serious manner, as each word that comes out of his mouth are said in a crystal clear, audible tone, "…As there are things that disappear within your soul, there will also some that remain. In your case, you will have to discover them yourself, in that new body. If anything at all, I believe that it is the same burden you were cursed with ever since you were born."_

_If the soul of Chaos had eyes, they would be wide in shock by now. But still, the spirit replied in his usual stoic voice, "I see. The same thing I loathed since birth, huh? I believe I know what that is…"_

"_Yes, it is those same burdens. However…" Shinryu continues to explain, "It is just as you said: You can live life the way you want it, and mold your fate by your own hands. If you chose to continue with this plan of yours, then, remember; Everything will be up to you by that point. No more favors or assistances from me, or any other beings outside of the world you will be sent into, and when you die in there, you shall be subjected to that world's own cycle of life and death, never to leave that world's flow." Shinryu warns, his tone now bordering on the intimidating side, "That's all that you need to know. So, will you accept this deal, or will you not?"_

"_I do." The soul of Chaos quickly responds, earning him a surprised reaction from the ancient dragon, "It does not matter what the conditions maybe. With the assistance of my power or not, I will live that life the way I would want it to. No more armies taking me for war. No more endless cycles of conflict. I simply want to experience a free life. That is all." The soul of Chaos sternly answers, his tone amusing Shinryu, who now has made a decision after hearing the spirit's words._

"_Very well, God of Discord. Remember, this is the last favor I shall grant for free. If we ever meet again by chance, any favor from then on shall have an exchange, equivalent of the worth of the favor. But first, Give me a moment."_

"…_Why? Is there something wrong?" The soul of Chaos asked, prompting Shinryu to reply in a stern voice as white light glows and spreads around the dragon's body…_

"_Calm down. I have found the world that I will send you into, which is the first condition. Right now, I am fulfilling the second condition…" The ancient dragon replies. The soul of Chaos only pushed further._

"_And what would that condition be?"_

"…_Looking for a man and a woman in the middle of making love." Shinryu flatly replies._

_If the soul of Chaos had a working physical mouth right now, he would really take this moment to do a spit take. But alas, he can't. He's dead right now, after all. He is still quite in shock, however. _

"_Ah. I think I found just the right couple. Rejoice, God of Discord! The woman has quite the beauty and body, it appears. Her skills in bed are also-"_

"_Please, I beg of you, don't continue speaking after that part and let's just proceed with the ritual." Should he have hands with fingers right now, the spirit would love to do a palm his face. But then again, he doesn't have hands to begin with…_

_Shinryu only got confused at Chaos' reaction, prompting him to retort. "Now, now, don't fret. You will not remember any of this, anyway. What's with that reaction? I thought most human men want beautiful women as their mothers, who made great efforts in making them?"_

_The soul of Chaos sighed before replying, "The words may be forgotten, but the trauma remains nonetheless. And you only got the 'beautiful' part right! That last part about efforts is totally unnecessary!"_

"…_I do not understand at all. So I shall take your suggestion. Let's proceed with the ritual of soul insertion. The preparations are now complete. Now, then, to wait for that one opportune moment…" Shinryu states as the light from his body earlier now surrounds the soul of Chaos. And that light danced around the spirit…_

…_for quite a long time._

"…_Hmm…I guess I messed up the timing by being a little too early. But that's a good thing. This way, the soul will be quickly transported as soon as the opportune moment begins…" Shinryu states in a matter-of-fact tone, earning it suspicions from the soul of Chaos._

"…_What went wrong?" The spirit asks with a slight tone of disappointment, fearing that something may have gone awry._

"_Do not fret. It's just that…" Shnryu pauses, before it continued in an amused voice, "…The rounds hasn't been shot yet."_

_The spirit of Chaos went silent. An awkward atmosphere followed right after._

_A few minutes after, the bright light surrounding the soul of Chaos increases in intensity, a sign that the ritual is now starting…_

"_Ah, there we go! It appears to have been successful. Rejoice, Chaos!" Shinryu amusingly declares as the presence of the soul of Chaos is starting to fade away and go somewhere…_

_The soul of Chaos feels his consciousness slip, his very thoughts and memories of that moment vanishing like chalk on the sidewalk. However, in these last moments, Shinryu's voice can still be heard by the spirit…_

"_Allow me to remind you: From this point onward, everything shall be up unto you. Your life, your fate, and your decisions pertaining it, will be up to your liking now. Now go. With those hands, will you be able to maintain that life of yours? Or will it end up like the previous one you had? Will you sow the seeds of happiness? Or will it lay the foundations of Discord once more? The answer is up to you…"_

_The soul finally disappears in a pillar of bright light, a sign that it now has been transferred into its destined place._

_Shinryu, in a victorious tone, declares aloud…_

"…_Just as planned. Now then, looks like the incoming years will not be so boring now, after all…"_

_The ancient dragon sports a large grin on its face._

"_I've gotten myself a new amusement to watch. Knowing him, his fate will always put on a good show, wherever he will be…"_

* * *

><p><em>The nation of Planeptune…<em>

_A nation considered as the most advanced in terms of technological development, as seen by its tall, towering and futuristic skyscrapers and towers. One of its most noticeable structures is the Neptower, the tallest structure which can be seen from any point in the city. _

_However, the nation itself is also infamous for bring the most targeted locations of monster attacks, which eventually caused the nation to tighten security and go for an increase in manpower in the military divisions and monster hunting guilds. As such, one can expect to also encounter a lot of travellers, ranging from simple adventurers to strong mercenaries in the capital city of Planeptune._

_And as such, life simply flows for everyone in this nation. Except for one…_

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><p><em>On an ordinary day inside Planeptune's Hospital…or more specifically, the inside one of the Labor and Delivery rooms…<em>

_Lying down on a bed is a young woman in her early twenties, having a pale, bluish-silver colored hair to go with her pale skin, and a pair of blue eyes with eye bugs beneath them. Tears are also streaming from those eyes, down to her cheeks. She wears a hospital gown, which was quite bloodied on the lower regions, which was a testament of a great labor she endured a few hours earlier…_

_What was that labor? It was one of the most painful, yet the greatest thing she ever did in her entire life…_

…_Which was giving birth to her first child, now cradled in her arms. Her greatest treasure, crying loudly in her embrace._

"_Congratulations, miss Ryghts! It's a healthy baby boy!" The mid-wife stated happily, and aloud. There were a group of nurses with her as well, all who have a happy and victorious look on their faces._

"_I know. You've said that for about three times already…Ehehehe…" Rei Ryghts, the mother of the child, states in an extremely tired voice. However, overflowing happiness is evident in the way she said it._

"_So, what are you going to name him, Miss Ryghts?" One of the nurses accompanying the mid-wife asked excitedly. Rei simply looked at her, before looking back happily to her child…_

"…_Reiji. From now on, We will call you Reiji, okay?" Rei happily states, earning multiple, soft happy cheers from the nurses and the mid-wife. While the personnel were busy with their own personal celebrations, Rei closed her eyes, and whispered something to no one at particular…_

"_Are you watching us now, Zack?" _

* * *

><p><em>17 years has passed since then…<em>

_Currently, an event is being held inside Planeptune's Basilicom, the nation's place of worship, where the people can openly worship the Goddesses of Planeptune itself, who goes by the name of Purple Heart. The inside of the Basilicom itself appears to be a wide hall, with a door on one end and an altar for the Goddess on the other. In between them are a set of pews where the people would sit during their time of worship. _

_But right now, instead of normal people, armored knights are occupying the pews, with the ones in the front row wearing a stoic, but graceful expression, which is a common trait among the well experienced, senior knights of the nation. Meanwhile, from the middle to the back row, are also armored knights, but most of them having an air of tension and excitement. After all, today's event in the Basilicom is…_

…_The 110__th__ Knighting Ceremony of Planeptune's Knights of the Velvet Sword, a special unit of soldiers who are trained to the bone in the way of battle and honor. Once knighted, their duties as Knights include being the elite fighting force during war time, and to become Planeptune's peacekeepers and defenders during the times of peace. However, it seems that the times have gotten a little too peaceful, and the knights found nothing else to do than the usual patrols and monster cleaning. Nonetheless, most of them are honored for the job…_

_Among the group of those to be knighted, some are still quite nervous, confused, and excited. And these traits are shown by three particular people somewhere in the back row of the pews…_

"Oi, oi, what are you two sweating about? Don't tell me you guys are still nervous, even after passing the knight qualification exams! We should be excited! I mean, come on, we're about to become heroes! And you guys look like you're having diarrhea and hemorrhoids at the same time!"

The first of the three recruits whispers to his two friends, who are still shaking. The said first recruit has pale, bluish-silver hair, which appeared to be short and spiky, and has bangs that frame the sides of his face. He also has a pair of blue eyes, and fair skin. He wears a black, sleeveless turtle-neck sweater with a pair of black steel shoulder pauldrons, baggy black pants held by a large belt containing a logo that looked like a stylized N, a pair of black, light boots, and as well as leather accents that holds his uniform and weapon in place. However, there is no weapon hanging currently in place, as he is still about to receive his official weapon in the ceremony…

"Easy f-for you to say! I m-mean, my parents are watching! And the senior knights are watching, too! Of course I'd be nervous!" The second of the recruits retorts. He has spiky brown hair held by a red head band, and a pair of green eyes. He also wears the same clothing as the first recruit.

"…I…don't even know what I'm supposed to do when I get up there!" The third of the recruits exclaimed. He appears to be a plump young man, having a messy, spiky black hair, a pair of black eyes, and wears the same uniform as the first and second recruits.

"Ahahaha! Come on guys! It's just listening to the Goddess speak out to you and giving you your official weapons! There's nothing to be afraid of. Unless your balls shrink, or something." The first recruit retorts, with a smile on his face. Unlike his two friends, he appears excited to become a part of the Knights, and to meet the Goddess as well.

"_Although, those official weapons are still payed for by the graduating Knight, which is both ironic and annoying at the same time. I hope mother had a cheap blade forged for me. I seriously don't want to put her in any debt right now…And I could just get a better one from my salary anyway, so I hope she didn't overdo it…_" The first recruit thought as he worried over his mother's choice for what sword is to be forged. Remembering his family's financial status, a debt is the last thing he would want.

"That's the point!"

"The Goddess is way too hot! I don't even know what to say to her up there! I might melt!"

Hearing his friend's true reasons for being embarrassed, the first recruit wanted to palm himself in the face, but stopped himself in the last minute and said something instead, "Err, haven't you guys passed through adolescence already?" The first recruit tries to cheer his two friends…

"Shut it! A man is always a boy at heart! Ahh…I wonder if Miss Purple Heart is going to wear that same dress she wore during the friendship treaty!"

"If she did, then…Oh my Goddess! Those lovely _mountains_ and _valleys!_"

The first recruit only sighed as he observed his two friends enter 'Purple Heart Fan-boy Mode', which was pretty much all the time. What those two said were quite the truth though. Purple Heart's dress during the invocation ceremony of the friendship treaty between the nations was quite the turn-on material…Those _ballistics_…were truly god-like.

…And suddenly, the first recruit mentally slapped himself. Such thoughts are unbecoming of a Knight, it seems…

"Ah, there she is! It's Purple Heart!"

Arriving from the front door of the Basilicom with a grand entrance, is the Goddess of Planeptune, otherwise known as Purple Heart, clad in an elegant, black gown, which had a vertical cut around the chests, emphasizing her ample…bossom. As she walked elegantly from the entrance of the Basilicom to its altar, many of the Knights, both senior and rookie, had twisted necks from looking on so hard towards their Goddess.

Reaching the altar, Purple Heart then turns around and faces the whole group of knights inside the Basilicom. With a proud, but elegant and graceful tone of voice, Purple Heart begins her speech.

"A good day to you all, dear Knights and guests! Today, we have all gathered here, in this Basilicom, to witness an important event for our nation."

As she spoke, Purple Heart gestures towards the recruits in the middle and back rows, before continuing her speech.

"Today is the day where our young soldiers will finally take the step into Knighthood! Let us rejoice with a round of applause!" Purple Heart declares aloud with a proud tone, causing the entire group of knights and guests to clap their hands for a few seconds, before stopping.

"Now then, without further ado, let us begin!" Raising her left hand, Purple Heart summons a pillar of light beside her, which then dissipates in a few seconds. In its place is a large broadsword, stabbed on the ground. From the tip to handle, it appears to be around five to six feet long. The bladed edge appears to be colored silver, while the rest of the sword is colored black. The hand guard is colored gold, and has an angelic theme to it. There also appears to be two holes near the hand guard that's set on a parallel direction to the sword's tip. The handle of the sword appears to be colored red, and is about 1 and a half feet long.

The first recruit's mouth dropped open, and stayed like that as he eyed the sword.

"Woah, whoever is going to receive that sword must be from a wealthy family, huh? I bet even the guy's toilet paper must be branded and made of gold!" The first recruit states, earning him the attention of his two friends, who nod at his words.

"…Must be a lucky bastard of sorts. But why would the hell would even be his toilet paper be branded or made of gold?! That's just ridiculous! It's just something you use to wipe your ass, so what's the point of making it so fancy?!" The second recruit whined. The third recruit follows right after.

"Why are we talking about toilet paper anyway? I thought we were supposed to bash the guy who's going to receive that ridiculous sword on stage!"

"Well then, I shall call the first graduate. Having gone through training and tests with the result of rank S, and passing the Knighting exams with the same rank, he shall now receive his official weapon of Knighting, and shall begin his duty as a 2nd class Knight. I call on you…" Purple Heart declares aloud, with admiration in her voice evident, being proud of her nation's products, "…Reiji Ryghts! Come forth and receive thy blade and honor!"

Shock filled the faces of the three recruits, especially the two friends of the first recruit. Of course, they comically blasted him off with insults, which is in fact, their way of cheering for their friend. This is shown by the happy, proud looks on their faces.

"You traitor! Even in Purple Heart's eyes, you're still an ace! You left us behind! Damn you and your _bishounen _looks!"

"Just go already and shower yourself already with Purple Heart's praises and sweet voice, you dick!"

"…Thanks for the support, Biggs, Wedge!" Reiji cheerfully says to his two friends, Biggs and Wedge, as he leaves his seat and proceeds to walk towards the altar, towards Purple Heart.

"_Woah, man…I'll admit, I feel nervous! And where the hell did mother get the money for that oversized broadsword?! Oh, wait, that's not important right now!_" Anxiety filled Reiji's mind as he proceeded forward, with cold sweat pelting his back as he walked towards the altar.

Purple Heart smiled as she watched Reiji nervously step up the altar, and faced him, with the official sword on hand.

Taking a deep breath to increase the intensity of her voice, Purple Heart then began to declare aloud, "You have passed the tests and trials imposed upon you. And now you stand here, in front of all Knights in Planeptune, ready to take the honor of becoming a Knight yourself as a result of all your work. Now, allow me to ask this question…" With a stern look and voice, Purple Heart asks the mandatory question for the graduating Knight, "Will you take the responsibility and honor of protecting our nation, in the name of your Goddess and her people?"

"Yes, I will take responsibility, and dedicate my life in protecting the nation I love and cherish!" Reiji declares with intensity and spirit, earning him a small nod and smile from the Goddess.

"Very well, then, allow me to bestow this sword upon you, as the mark of my trust in you and your strength! Take ownership of this sword, the _Shin-Zantetsu_, and protect this nation alongside me, and your fellow Knights!" Purple Heart effortlessly lifts the large broadsword from the ground, and hands it over to Reiji, who grabs and holds it with little difficulty.

"Thank you, for the honor, Lady Purple Heart!" Reiji declares aloud, before lifting the Shin-Zantetsu into the air with his two hands, pointing it upward. The crowd then gave a round of applause as he did this. After the clapping had died down, Reiji places the _Shin-Zantetsu_ on the leather accent on his back, which held the sword in place, with its tip pointing downwards.

"Now, young Knight, walk proud, and let the people know of your success!" Purple Heart commands. To all knights who just graduated, this commands means walking out of the Basilicom and show the people outside of his or her success as a new Knight of the nation.

Reiji then leaves the stage, with a big, goofy smile on his face. All those years of training and studying finally paid off. Now, to show his mother the fruits of both their hard work…

Reiji leaves the Basilicom as Purple Heart proceeds to Knight other recruits…

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><p><em>Meanwhile, in the streets of Planeptune…<em>

_Wandering around the entrance of the Basilicom is Rei Ryghts, her hair __consisting of very neatly combed bangs that reach her ears, framing her face. She has strands of hair, very straight and worn down, reaching her chest. The rest of her hair loosely flows outward and seems to be about waist length. She's also__wearing a black suit-top with a white undershirt and black tie, with big black and white piece shoulder attachments and a loose white belt. An odd skull is shown directly below it, along with a thin white cloth over her lower half. The end of the jacket almost resembles a skirt or dress, and she also has on black leggings, and tall white boots with X-shaped black laces._

"_He's probably a Knight of Planeptune right now…I don't know what I should do…_" Rei looked down as she feels a slight regret over one simple decision; Letting her son, her only child, become a Knight of the nation. Or in other words, the Goddess' emergency meat shields and loyal dogs. She never thought that she'd let her son end up as such. To think that she did the same mistake like back then…

"_Only if it wasn't for them…if it wasn't for those…damn Goddesses and their greed, my husband would be here with me and Reiji right now!_" Rei clenched her teeth, as the bitter memory of her husband getting sent off in the last years of the infamous _Console Wars _cost her husband's life, dying not for the sake of defending the nation, but for a Goddess' greed for power and fame…and now, her son is treading the same road, and she wasn't able to stop it from happening once more…

"_I'm…so useless. So pathetic. I'm so sorry, Reiji._" Rei only clenched her fists in anger…and despair, as she thought of the possible consequences of Reiji joining the order of Planeptune's Knights.

"Excuse me? Mom?"

A familiar voice snaps Rei out of her trance, causing her to turn to the source of the voice…

"…! Reiji!" Rei happily greets her son with a warm smile, "That uniform…and that sword…" Rei says as she eyes the clothes her son is now wearing and as well as the gigantic sword hanging from his back.

"Yep, I'm a part of the Knights of the Velvet Sword now! A 2nd class too!" Reiji states with a happy tone of voice, putting on a goofy smile as he scratches his head. Rei couldn't help but smile along. Her son's smiling face is really infectious. To her, anyway.

"…Congratulations, Reiji. I'm really proud of you…" Rei says in a sincere, warm tone to her son as pats her son's head without warning, causing the young Knight to suddenly put on an embarrassed face.

"Th-thank you, mom…but could you stop petting my head?!" Reiji says with an embarrassed tone, causing Rei to gently draw her hand back, while having a slight smile.

"But, seriously, mom, I…" Reiji begins to speak, "…I really want to thank you for your hard work, mom. If it wasn't for your help, I wouldn't be a Knight right now. So…thank you so much!" Reiji declares with gratitude intensely flowing from his voice.

Rei's eyes widened for a moment, before returning to their normal sizes. But this time, they're filled with a warm sensation as she looked at her son. It felt like…all the weight in her heart lightened for a short moment…

"Hehe…you're welcome, Reiji."

"Hey, momma's boy! Over here!"

"And who're ya calling a mama's boy?!" Reiji twitched as veins plopped at his head after hearing those words. He then proceeds to turn to the source of the voice…

…And finds Biggs and Wedge, waving at him from afar, and are also carrying their official weapons with them. Biggs was carrying a sheathed Katana with him, while Wedge had a large battle axe strapped onto his back.

"Go," Rei says to her son while slightly pushing him towards the direction of his friends, "…Celebrate with your friends. I'll be at home."

Reiji looked at her for a bit, before turning his attention to his two friends and going towards them. But not before looking back at his mother one last time and says, "Thank you for the sword!"

And with that, Reiji goes to his friends. Rei simply watched him from afar, before turning her back and walks away…

Now…she knows what she can do. No, rather, what she _must _do.

"Now, then, time to start making those anti-CPU pamphlets…while he's not home, of course."

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, in the 7th Heaven Resto-Bar, inside the main capital City of Planeptune…<em>

"Cheers! For all the graduates!"

"_**HELL YEAH!**_"

A large contingent of Knights, both senior and new, each with a large glass of beer in hand, shares a toast, before gulping it all down, at the same precise moment.

Currently, a celebration is being held for the Knight graduates inside Planeptune's most famous Restaurant-Bar, 7th Heaven. All foods and drinks are to be paid by the government, just for this occasion. Which means free everything. Hence, the current phenomenon inside the resto-bar.

Sitting behind the Bar counter, is a woman with black hair reaching till the middle of her back. She also has a pair of red eyes and fair skin. She wears a white shirt under a black zip-up vest with black shorts that fold at the waist, forming an additional utility pocket at the front and a short duster at the back extending to her heels. She also wears a pink ribbon around her left arm, and a pair of black rubber shoes with white overtones.

This woman is known by the name of Tifa Lockhart, the owner of the 7th Heaven Resto-Bar.

"Umm…excuse me?" A young man's voice grabs Tifa's attention, causing her to turn her attention to the source of the voice. Her sight is then greeted by the sight of Reiji, who now carries an emptied glass of strawberry sundae.

"I would like to order another one, please!" Reiji cheerfully declares with a smile, before gently putting the emptied glass of sundae on the bar counter.

"Wow, that's, like, the seventh time you ate a whole glass. Are you sure you're okay with just sundaes?" Tifa asks the young Knight, who nods. Sighing, Tifa goes to get another refill of strawberry sundae. Meanwhile, Reiji just takes a seat on one of the vacant seats in front of the bar counter.

A few minutes later, Tifa comes back with another glass of strawberry sundae, which places a big smile on Reiji's face. Tifa saw this, and happily places the sundae on the bar counter, and is then taken by Reiji after.

As Reiji stands up and leaves for his table, another person enters the bar, and heads straight to the bar counter.

The said person has ridiculously spiky blond hair, slightly glowing blue eyes, and a light skin tone. He wears a high collar sleeveless black shirt, black pants and boots, and black cloth covering his left leg. He also has a pauldron on his left shoulder, held by two straps, which in turn held in place by a badge with a symbol representing a Fenrir. He also has multiple straps resembling sword holsters hanging on the back of his hips, although there are no swords at the moment.

As the blond haired man made his way into the bar counter, he passes through Reiji's left side, who is going through the direction in opposite to the former. As they passed through each other, one of the blond man's eyebrow twitched, and he looks back, only to see the gigantic sword hanging onto Reiji's back. The blond haired man's eyes widened in nostalgia for a few seconds, before returning into their normal size. Seeing Reiji takes his seat at a table, the blond haired man then turns his back, and resumes his own business, heading straight to the bar counter, where Tifa waited…

Tifa, in turn, spots the approaching blond haired man. A smile makes its way onto her face, before she greets the said man…

"Welcome back, Cloud."

* * *

><p><em>A few hours later…<em>

_Multiple numbers of Knights lay unconscious on the ground, knocked out by alcohol, evidenced by the fact that they are all snoring peacefully with the smell of beer freely flying off their mouths. All knights are currently in this predicament, save for one…_

"…Wow. Didn't think the seniors were just as wild as the newbies. Is this what they meant by 'All men are little boys at heart'?." Reiji sweat-dropped at the sight permeating the insides of the resto-bar. Tifa herself has a similar reaction, while the blond haired man in front of her, whom she called Cloud, just didn't care. And just kept drinking.

"I'm sure…That's not the case. Although, looking at how monster attacks have been so rare lately, along with the friendship treaty, I guess they really are just treasuring their time off while it lasts. But, this kind of thing usually happens about everyday now…" Tifa comments, looking at the drunken Knights with amusement.

"…Well, I guess I should head home now. Thanks for sundae, Ms. Lockhart!" Reiji bows towards Tifa, and proceeds to turn his and leave…

"Thank you! Please come again next time!" Tifa loudly says as Reiji was about to reach the door.

However, before he could reach the knob, the door suddenly swings open with force, causing Reiji to back down a few notches by jumping back!

"Whoa! What the hell?!"

Busting through the door was a young woman, with short, brown hair. She wears a business suit, and a pair of broken red heels, as sign of running hurriedly.

"H-help!" The woman shouted, "T-the b-basilicom! Monster attack!"

"Wait a sec." Tifa jumps over the bar counter, and quickly approaches the woman, and attempts to calm her down as she held her by the arms, "Listen to what I have to say. Now, take a deep breath…"

The woman follows Tifa's instructions, and takes three deep breaths…which slowed down her rather fast heartbeat from all the running from earlier…

"Are you okay now? Can you speak clearly?" Tifa calmly asks the woman, who nods affirmatively, albeit still shaking a little.

"Then, tell me what happened."

"It…it was sometime after the Knighting ceremony…" The woman began, "Around the time when the Basilicom was filled with no one but Lady Purple Heart and some civilians who wanted to talk to her, a large…swirly blue thing appeared at the inner entrance of the Basilicom, and from in it came a large, blue-scaled monster with wings! It even breathed fire all around!" The woman loudly shouts with fear, before continuing, "Lady Purple Heart went to fight it, but…she still has some civillians behind her, and she's focusing on keeping them safe. I…even only got away because Lady Purple Heart helped me. But she…" The woman starts leaking tears as she continued, "…She got injured in the process! She told me to get the knights, but…"

The woman looks around, and all hope seems to have vanished when she saw the sleeping, drunken figures of the knights, falling on her knees in the process.

"Wait, I'm still here! I'll help!" Reiji declares as he raised his hand, his eyes ready for action, "The Basilicom, right? I'll head there right now!" Without waiting for a reply, Reiji rushes out of the resto-bar.

"W-wait! That monster is no ordinary…oh no, he's gone!" The woman palmed her face as she was unable to relay the important information she was supposed to share…

"Why? What kind of monster was it?" Tifa worriedly asks, earning her an answer from the woman.

"It's a dragon!"

"What?!" Tifa relies in shock, while Cloud finally turned his head. It seems that there is only one thing they can do now…

"Cloud!"

"I know." Cloud steely replies, "Give me a moment to get ready."

* * *

><p>"Tch! To think that you'd actually injure me…impressive."<p>

Purple Heart muses as she held her wound on the right shoulder with her left hand. It seems that being unprepared really takes its toll.

"Where are the reinforcements?! I really shouldn't have let Nepgear, Compa, and Iffy takes that job earlier…and now, I got myself in this…tight situation." Purple Heart says as she looks at the dragon, which is a few runs away from her, as it sat on the other end of the Basilicom, or rather, the entrance.

"_Tch…If I try to make even just one of the citizens to escape, it will just become a signal to the dragon to start attacking, and looking at my situation right now, that's not even a funny idea, let alone effective!_" Sweat was starting to fall down the sides of the Goddess' face, as she was having difficulties in what she was supposed to do…

It seems that she has no choice but to rely on the reinforcements…

The dragon, as if starting get bored, suddenly puts on all fours, as if getting ready to attack. However, at that precise moment…

…An explosion was heard, complete with the shaking of the ground. At the same time, the dragon's eyes widened, as if surprised. And after that, another explosion was heard, and this time, the dragon roared in pain as it rolled forward, straight into the middle of the Basilicom…

…With its behinds on fire, which Purple Heart saw as the dragon turned into the direction where it was positioned a while ago…

What greeted its eyes was…

"Is that…a Knight? But…" Purple Heart stared in disbelief as the reinforcement was none other than a single 2nd class Knight, carrying the sword _Shin-Zantetsu_ over his shoulders.

"…Where are the other Knights?!"

"…Sorry, Lady Purple Heart, but…they're all drunk right now! Thanks to that party the Basilicom set up!" Reiji shouted all the way from the Basilicom's entrance, and as the message reached Purple Heart's ears…

…She planted her face on the ground.

"Sigh…So side characters will always be side characters, huh? How…useless…" Neptune loudly complained as she removed her face from the ground, which earned her a retort from Reiji from the other end of the Basilicom…

"…Who're you calling a side character?!"

However, before Reiji could hear any reply, the dragon dashes towards the young knight, and attempts to slice him sideways with a sweeping hit using its right claw. However, the attack missed as Reiji managed to jump high at the last minute, reaching far above the dragon's head.

"…Here comes a hero!" Reiji shouts as blue colored, flame-like energy coated _Shin-Zantetsu_ and Reiji's body as he descended…

"_Almagest Slam!_"

…And slams down his sword on the dragon's forehead as it was about to look up, with the hit causing an explosion of blue colored energy in mid-air. The impact attack had so much force, that the ground below the dragon cracked all around, and causing it to shake a little.

"Oho? He actually landed a hit?" Purple Heart amusingly comments, before turning to the citizens behind her, and then at the crystal windows of the Basilicom. An idea quickly pops up in her head.

Raising her sword, Purple Heart focuses onto the glass windows…and throws her sword at it with great force, breaking the glass windows down!

"Alright, everyone!" Purple Heart calls out, "Escape through the broken window! _Now_!"

Without hesitation, the citizens escape through the broken glass window, with Purple Heart following right after, leaving Reiji, and the dragon, which has started to get up on its feet…with blood visibly pouring down its head.

"Well, geez, that's one tough skull." Reiji commented, readying himself in a battle stance. Not wasting time, the dragon charges towards Reiji, and swings down its left claw diagonally downwards, which Reiji narrowly dodged with a quick roll to the left. The dragon then follows up with a fierce sweeping attack with its right claw, which Reiji barely dodged with a backward jump.

However, before Reiji could think up of a counterattack, the dragon quickly charges towards him with a diagonal swing using its left claw, forcing Reiji, with his back to the wall, to dodge with a roll to the right. By sheer luck, the force of the dragon's forward charge caused the creature's head to crash unto the wall, rendering it dizzy for a moment.

"Alright! Now!" Reiji puts himself in a battle stance, with his right foot forward and left foot at the back, and acting as if he is wielding a sheathed _katana,_ with the blue flame-like energy from earlier reappearing and coating his entire body and sword.

"_I will have to give it my all in this attack! It's hit or die!_"

The blue colored energy around his body increases in intensity and size, as he focuses all of his strength and energy into his sword…

"_Concentrate…_"

The blue flame-like energy that coated Reiji's body is now three times larger in size, and suddenly condenses itself into _Shin-Zantetsu, _giving the sword the appearance of a large blade burning with great blue flames…

The dragon has appeared to have recovered from its dizziness, and recovers a bit of its focus, however…it seems that it was too late, as Reiji has now fully readied his trumph card.

"This is it! _Crescent…Cleave!_" Reiji roars out as he performs a swift, horizontal slash similar to the way a _katana _is drawn and swung at the same time, creating an extremely wide, thick azure colored crescent-shaped energy attack flying at high speed towards the dragon, who attempts to guard itself.

The attack hits, which creates a large explosion inside the Basilicom, which in turn sends dust flying all over…

Reiji falls on his knees, extremely exhausted after using up all of his energy in that attack.

"Did I…did I make it…?" Reiji asks himself, rapidly losing his consciousness. However, as the dust cleared, it appears that lady luck isn't really siding with him today…

"You've…you've gotta be kidding me!"

The dragon still stands strong, albeit having a large, horizontal cut wound on its abdominal area. However, the dragon's movement appears to be still as wild as earlier, as if not even fazed by its fatal wound. Without hesitation, the dragon prepares to charge at Reiji for payback.

"_So…This is it, huh? How funny…_" Despite his current predicament, Reiji still placed a cheerful smile onto his face, "_To think that I haven't even gone into my first mission yet, and I'm already history. I…still haven't even bought a new house for mom yet…_"

Looking at his imminent demise, Reiji softly closes his eyes, as the words of his mentor rang in his head…

"_Embrace your dreams…if you want to be a hero, you need to have dreams…and honor._"

The dragon finally charges forward, and slams Reiji with a horizontal sweep using its right claw, directly wounding Reiji on the left side of his body before being slammed onto a nearby wall, and falling down the floor…

"_I'm sorry, mentor, but it seems that my dream ends here..._" Reiji swore, he could see his life flash before him, but even as he laid down on the floor, battered and bloody, he kept his grip on his sword, intent on dying as how he intended to live as: A Hero. Who died protecting the Goddess and her people from evil…

"…_I'm really sorry, too, mom. Looks like I won't be back for dinner tonight…_"

The dragon now has raised its right claw, ready to deal the finishing blow…

"Hold it right there! _Dual Edge!_" A familiar voice rang in Reiji's ears from above…

A purple flash appeared out of nowhere, heading straight into the dragon's right arms, and cutting it off as the flash passed through.

The dragon lets out a pained roar before backing down, and detects a purple glow from above. And much to its surprise…

"I have returned! Although what I really needed was a bit of rest. That was all." Purple Heart declares as she lands in front of the fallen, barely conscious and un-amused Reiji, and faces him…

"You have done well. To think that you'd go against this creature all on your own, even if you're just a human, just for the sake of the people…Color me impressed. Most human soldiers that I have seen in action would run at the sight of this monster, some of them even my honored knights. I would like to give you my token of appreciation, but, for now, please rest. Allow me to end this." Purple Heart gently declares as she turns her attention onto the bleeding dragon…

"You have hurt one of my precious Knights, mindless beast. Allow to give you divine retribution as payment for such an insolent act! _Neptune Break!_" Purple Heart roars before holding her sword up in front of her face, and launches herself into the air as a purple glow surrounds her. She then begins to slash the dragon multiple times from all directions, and then spins flips her blade in the air, and catches it in a flashy fashion before she slashes the dragon once more from all directions again.

A beam of purple light suddenly shoots up from below the dragon, sending it upwards, and Purple Heart finishes it off with a final thrust, causing it to explode in purple light particles.

"Holy…crap…" Feeling his consciousness slipping, Reiji could only mutter in awe as he watched the Goddess finish off the monster, "So…this is…how…CPU's fight, eh…Ugh…"

Finally, Reiji loses consciousness, with Purple Heart's concerned calls being the last thing he hears…

* * *

><p>"Oh, my, looks like we weren't needed at all." Tifa comments as she watched Purple Heart carry Reiji in her arms in bridal style, from afar. Cloud, who was also watching, snorted.<p>

"Hmph. That kid's still pretty green. If anything at all, he's still mediocore. And he's got the Goddess on his side anyway, so there was really no need to interfere in the first place." Cloud shared his thoughts, earning him a small laugh from Tifa.

"Hahaha. As if blondie here himself was all so mighty when he was a newbie himself! He couldn't even swing a sword back then!"

"…Shut up."

* * *

><p><em>Three days have passed since that incident…<em>

"Ugh…my head…"

Reiji groans as he opened his eyes, and found himself in an unfamiliar room.

Knowing the soft sensation on the back part of his body, Reiji knows that he is obviously in a bed. He looks around, only to find a stair on the right side of the bed he laid in, which leads into another possibly a bed upside.

However, it was not what the most noticeable feature that Reiji noticed. What piqued his attention was…

The overall pink and purple theme of the room, even the floor. On one side of that room, was a large pink closet beside a mirror with pink, girlish themed frames. Beside those furnitures are two study tables set beside each other, one being messy while the other one was neatly set.

On the other side of the room facing the earlier furnitures is just a single pink colored couch, with animal motif pillows. _And _in the very middle of the room is a simple white, round table, with a pair of pink colored chairs.

After analyzing his surroundings, Reiji concluded one thing: He _is _definitely in a girl's room. In a _young _girl's room. And there appears to be two of them, judging from the furnitures.

"…There's definitely something wrong with this scenario…" Reiji palmed his face as he tries to understand his situation, "Aren't I supposed to be in a hospital after getting beat up?! And what the hell is wrong with this room?! It's too pink, I'm getting diabetes! Whatever this place is, this isn't where injured people should be staying! That's it, I'm dragging my sorry ass to the hospital!"

However, before Reiji could even get up from bed, the door suddenly opens, revealing…

Purple Heart, clad in a nurse costume, carrying something in her hands, which appeared to be bandages and scissors…

Reiji's jaw dropped as Purple Heart comes near him, and greeting him at the same time.

"Ah. Good morning." Purple Heart states in a welcoming tone, "And just in case you are wondering, welcome to my room, Reiji Ryghts."

"La…Lady Purple Heart?! What the he-I mean, what is going here?! Why am I in your room?!" Reiji asks in a slight panic. The fact that he just discovered that he is inside the room of his nation's Goddess isn't helping in any way, at all.

"Have you forgotten? I thought I told you, that I should at least reward you personally for your bravery and dedication. And so, I took the liberty of taking care of you for the last three days. With the help of some of my friends, of course." Purple Heart states in a matter-of-fact tone, as if totally unfazed by the fact that she just brought a post-pubescent and possibly still hormonal driven teenager into her room. _For three days._

Reiji only sat on the bed, jaw-dropped, and not moving out of shock. Purple Heart, not willing to wait, starts unrolling the bandage in her hands…

"Huh? What are you doing, Lady Purple Heart? What's the deal with the bandages?"

"Oh, I'm just giving the same treatment my nurse friend gave me once, when I was hurt myself…"

"Yeah, I can totally see that, but…Why are you wrapping up my whole body?!"

"…Eh? Why do you ask? Isn't this how the use of bondage is supposed to work?"

"It's 'bandage', my Lady! And please, stop, I beg you! You're already mummifying me!"

"Now, now, the patient's duty to let the nurse patch him up."

"Oh, yes, seriously, Lady Purple Heart, you're indeed doing a good job patching me up…_for the morgue!_"

"Ssshhh. Be a good patient, or else, I might get angry."

"No, no, stop! Stop! Ah, ah! _GYYYAAAAHHHHH!_"

…Perhaps he should've ran away at first opportunity after all…

…And get a better nurse. Or perhaps a therapist.

* * *

><p><em><strong>And done! Phew!<strong>_

_**Some Notes:**_

_**All of the Neptunia cast are bound to appear in-story. They will have the same roles as they did in victory.**_

_**Many more FF series characters coming in along the way. A lot of them. They will also have roles.**_

_**The name of the main protagonist of this story is a reference to a protagonist of a crossover game who has the same name. Kudos to those who knew that guy.**_

_**Also, the uniform worn by the protagonist and the others similar to him is a direct shout-out to the SOLDIER uniform of FFVII. It's just that the color coding is different, and instead of the SOLDIER symbol, a stylized N (The N found on Neptune's and Nepgear's clothing) is placed as the uniform's symbol on the belt.**_

_**By the way, I want to ask you guys: Should I place BGM's during some of the important events? Or should I just stick to a novella type of writing? Your answer is really going to be helpful for future chapters.**_

_**Also, *SPOILERS FOR VICTORY AND DISSIDIA INCOMING* Rei is still the FRIGGIN' main antagonist, as this story is set in HDN Victory's story. Yes, poor Reiji. Things are certainly aren't gonna be pleasant for him in the future. Especially if your mom gets possessed by her crazy alternate self from another dimension and becomes just as much of a nut-job, hell bent on international genocide. Although, if you've managed to play Dissidia and Dissidia 012, then you'll know that this isn't technically the first time Reiji (Chaos) fights his own mother. It's just that this time, he's on the other side of the conflict.*SPOILER END***_

_**So yeah. Hope you guys enjoyed reading. Till next time!**_


	2. And so, the story begins

_**Author's Notes: Yo. Quite unexpected, but, here's an update! I got really inspired after playing Dissidia 012 again. And Neptunia too, of course. After some…non-stop coffee sessions and curing boredom, here's a new chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: The Neptunia Series, the Final Fantasy series, and all the other references belong to their respective owners. I don't own any of them.**_

* * *

><p><em>Inside the room of a certain CPU of Planeptune, apparently, sitting on the side of the Goddess' bed is Reiji, now fully recovered and not wrapped in bandages, sports a surprised looks on his face. Especially after receiving the news from a medical expert concerning his condition…Oh, and the medical expert in question is no longer Lady Purple Heart, by the way, but, someone else in particular…<em>

"So, Miss Compa…you're saying that I'm really okay now? With no internal injuries whatsoever? I mean, I just got blasted by a dragon into a wall, for the record…" Reiji asks with curiosity and surprise dripping from his voice, especially after hearing that even after getting fatally slammed, or if in lady Purple Heart's words, _bitch slapped _into a wall by a 30 foot tall magical creature still didn't cause any fatal injuries.

"Yes, you're really okay now! I even checked you up lots and lots on Nep-Nep's orders these last three days while you were unconscious! Other than thin scratches, there was nothing wrong with you, Mr. Reiji." Happily declares a fair-skinned young girl with a creamy, light pink hair that reaches down her back, which curls around the edges. A head band with a C logo holds her hair in place. Her eyes are also of the same color as her hair. Her clothes appear to be a tan-white, wool styled tank top with big neck and un-attached sleeves and matching styled boots, but with small ribbons/fuzzy balls at the top. She also wears a red plaid skirt, a black choker with a small heart on it, black-brown knee-socks with light pink heart cut frills, and often carries a black hip purse, and heart shaped buttons. Like her headband, both her purse and the heart on the choker have a C logo.

This young woman is known by the name of Compa, Lady Purple Heart's '_Certified Nurse_'. From her tone, Reiji deduced that she is indeed speaking from experience, unlike a certain Goddess a few seconds ago…

Oh, and speaking of her, by the way…

"Yup! I was even surprised at that ridiculous condition of yours! I mean, you really looked like you were kicking the bucket after that _bitch sla_-err, grand slam the dragon handed ya!" Cheerfully adds a fair-skinned girl with a light, purple hair, and with a pair of eyes of the same color. It appears to be shoulder length with somewhat messy bangs with many strands sticking up and few framing her face. She wears two gamepad-shaped hairclips on the upper part of both left and right parts of her hair. Her clothes consist of a deep purple dress with lilac lining along the bottom, center, top, and pockets, along with white spiked edging at the hem. She wears a white, short-jacket over this with a big N button, purple plug-like strings, and purple lining and buckles on each shoulder sleeve. Around her neck she wore a simple white choker. Her lilac shoes have blue and white accents and were also worn with blue and white striped stockings.

From an outsider's point of view, she might be just another ordinary girl around her pre-teens. However, she was no ordinary girl…

…For in all truth, she is the one, and only CPU of the Nation of Planeptune, Lady Purple Heart…

…Or Neptune, for short. Reiji himself could not believe it either. The elegant, strong looking, graceful CPU he admired…was actually a pre-teen loli all along. He felt…betrayed, for some reason the Knight himself could not explain.

"Actually, I thought it was all over. I even cried a little! I saw my life flash before my eyes! In fact, I can even still see it until a _few minutes ago_!" Reiji retorted, emphasizing on the last part, referring to the _bandage play _Lady Neptune invoked earlier. Reiji swore, he could hear his mother's voice as he was drowned in the presence of the bandages. Had it not for Compa's timely arrival, things would've gotten pretty ugly…for Reiji.

"Oh, come on. That's already water under the toilet, right, Rei-Rei?"

"…It's water under the bridge, Lady Neptune. But what's with the nickname?! It sounds like something you'd give to some shy girl with glasses and no confidence in herself!" Reiji retorted back, completely forgetting the identity of the little girl in front of him. Yes, a little girl who just almost wrapped you up for dead and is even talking casually about it like yesterday's running gag and not even apologizing for it can make you forget anything and bite at whoever you find annoying.

Neptune only tilted her head in curiosity, "Eh? You don't like it? Then, how about _Shirou? _Or _Shiki?_"

"…They're not even related to my name in the first place. And they're all harem protagonists! What's with that set up?!"

"Rei-Rei it is, then!"

"_What?! _Hey,stop ignoring me!"

"Now, now, everyone, let's calm down a bit. Nep-Nep, could you stay out for a while? I need to perform a last test on Mr. Reiji here, to see if there are any other things the dragon might have caused him…" Coma finally intervenes, causing the Knight and the Goddess to turn their attention onto the gentle nurse. Reiji only showed a blank face with a hint of confusion, while Neptune had a look of someone who looked she ate a whole bowl of rice dipped in laxative.

"A-alone for a while?! C-Compa…You…don't tell me…" Neptune shakingly pointed her right index finger towards the gentle nurse, who had a surprised look on her face. "You're trying to raise a flag with the protagonist, even though you're a side character with little to no role more than a cameo in a chapter?! This can't be! The main heroine's route is supposed to be finished first! Side characters' routes are exclusive for the next playthrough! Or DLC!" Neptune shouts out loud, earning the goddess a look of shock from Compa and a '_What the hell are you talking about?!_' from Reiji.

"Eh?! I'm not doing anything like that, Nep-Nep! I really just need to make sure that Mr. Reiji here no longer has any possible wounds!" Compa tried to defend herself, but only earned a look of doubt from the goddess.

"Tsk, tsk, persistent, are we? Compa, I know that you still have that tiny grudge about not being playable in the third game, but…to think that you'd try to hijack the main heroine's position like this…That's not playing nice now, right?" Neptune declares in an un-amused tone with a hint of persuasion. Coma was already sweating bullets with a red face, and was about to defend herself, when…

"Um, excuse me, Miss Compa. I believe I'm alright now. I can leave…I think." Reiji interrupts, in an attempt to break out the rather one-sided argument in front of him, and of course, to run away from his…pre-pubescent goddess on acid trip.

"Eh? Are you sure?" Compa asks with concern, only for Neptune to reply before Reiji can spout off any answer.

"Of course he is! His HP and MP are fully restored, and he has no status ailments too! Ain't that right, Rei-Rei?"

"…I seriously don't know what you are talking about, Lady Neptune, but I'm feeling okay right now. So..." Reiji politely bows his head as he voices out his gratitude in an obviously grateful manner, "…Thank you very much for taking me in and taking care of me, Lady Neptune and Miss Compa. I won't forget my debt anytime soon. Now, if you ladies will excuse me…I'm off." Turning his back, Reiji then proceeds to leave the room, only for Neptune to call him out.

"Huh? You're actually leaving?! But you haven't started off any flag event with me yet! You even only have about, like, 5 Affection points with me! Wait-" Before Neptune could continue, Reiji rushes out of the room. Being no longer able to bear the confusion of trying to understand the words coming out of his goddess' mouth, Reiji rushes out of the room, and plans to go home and have some rest, although not for his body, but for his mind instead…and sanity included.

"_Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Shin-Zantetsu around Lady Neptune's room. Must be at the usual Basilicom armory for the Knights. I guess I'll head there before going home. Mom must be seriously worried now…Ugh, my head…_" Reiji then proceeds to massage his head as he walked inside the halls of the Basilicom, as a headache was getting making itself known out of his head, and it's not a pleasant experience…

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, in a back alley amidst the Capital City of Planeptune…<em>

_With a blank look in her eyes, Rei Ryghts walked into the insides of the alley, as if her body was being urged to go there, which even she herself could not understand why. Suddenly stopping, Rei proceeds to look around here…and was surprised._

"H-huh? Where am I…?" Rei asked herself, unaware of how she got there in the first place. Cramming through her memory, she suddenly sighs as she remembered why she is in this situation…

To start with, her son hadn't returned after the celebration of the Knighting ceremony. At first, she thought it was because he also probably got drunk in the party like the other Knights. But once she visited the Resto-Bar where the celebration was held, the owner, Tifa, told Rei that her son was actually the only one who never got drunk, as he only ordered strawberry sundaes. But then what came next after that shook Rei's heart; Since Reiji was the only one who never got drunk, he was the one who got dispatched into the attack on the Basilicom, and was made to face a dragon which was the perpetrator of the attack.

After that, Rei rushed towards the Basilicom…only to find out from the chattering staff and knights that the dragon has been successfully defeated by the combined efforts of the Goddess and Reiji, and that the Goddess had given Reiji '_special attention_', and was sent off somewhere the Basilicom staff were not told about. Rei only knew from the said staff that her son is currently with the goddess…

…The same goddess who confronted Rei the next day while she was giving off anti-CPU pamphlets. In fear of her son's safety, Rei did not introduce her name when the CPU commanded her to tell her name, and ran away as soon as possible. After that, Rei only remembered running and running everywhere out of fear…

"-_Sigh_- To think that I'd get lost this much while just running away…I'm such a screw up. But I…I'm not even doing anything wrong…I think…" Sighing once more, Rei looks down as she continues to talk to herself, "…All that I'm asking for…is proper rules and regulations so that we can survive and live without goddesses…and…" Rei then proceeds to take out something from her pocket, which looked like a pocket watch, but as she opened it, it had two pictures on both sides instead of a watch.

On one side is a close up picture of a smiling two year-old Reiji, with Rei herself also smiling just beside him. On the other side is a close up of a man, who has a pair of slightly glowing blue eyes, and a spiky black hair that resembled Reiji's but only slightly longer and is swept back, leaving a single lock of hair hanging down in front of his face. It also appears that the man wears the same uniform as Reiji's, although the man's clothes appear to signify a higher rank, judging from the purple color of the turtle neck sweat shirt visible from the picture.

"…So that we will no longer have to obey their whims and kiss their shoes just to continue living. A life where we can be free to be happy by our own accord…" Rei hopefully states with a small, sad smile on her face as she clenches the object in her hands tightly…

Returning the pocket sized picture holder into her pocket, Rei then takes a deep breath, and thinks of her current objective concerning her small '_campaign_', "Even with all the pamphlets that I've managed to give away, no one seems to be coming over at the meetings…-_Sigh_- Looks like this really was an outrageous thing to try after all..." Rei complains hopelessly, having managed to give away all the pamphlets, and yet, no one would come to the designated meeting place, thus, she has no members in her planned organized protest against the CPU's.

"But I…can't give up just yet! I…" Rei clenched her fists as she makes her declaration, "…I don't want to lose anyone else due to some shitty decisions made by a useless, lazy, _screwed-up _CPU ever again! I'll even drag their _holy asses _of their divine pedestals if I have to!" Rei declared fiercely, with pure determination and hatred brimming from her eyes.

"Holy shit, woman! That's some fierce declaration you've got there! I guess it was worth looking for ya these past three days!" A little girl's voice rang out of nowhere, snapping Rei out of her enraged trance…

"Huh?! What?! Who's there?!"

"Still, damn. Unlike her, you've got _blazing balls!_ Looks like it ain't gonna be boring around ya, at least!" The little girl's voice rang out once more, this time her words causing Rei to give a shocked reaction…

"I've got _**WHAT?! **_For your information, I'm a woman! I even have a son! Wait…Is someone talking to me?!" Rei replied to the air in panic, fearing that someone might have heard her. Worse, it might even be someone close to the goddess…

"I'm not talking literally, you idiot! And where are ya talking to?! I'm -here-! And did ya say you have a kid?! Now that's surprising! I wonder who's that poor bastard who decided to get laid with this middle-aged hag?"

A vein plopped in her forehead as Rei decided to look around first, but found no one, nonetheless, "You say -here-, but I seriously don't see anyone!" Putting a palm on her face, Rei sighs, "Wow. I must be more messed up than I thought. I'm even hearing voices…Am I going to end up at the Funny Farm one of these days?"

"Yeah, you certainly will if you keep talking to that wall, idiot. Look, this way, goddess damn it!" The little girl's voice rang out again. Rei only scratched her head in confusion as she retorts. Looks like she is going nuts after all…

"You keep saying that, but no matter if I look left or right, you're nowhere to be seen! Ah, why am I even talking back? I'd better go see a doctor…"

The little girl's voice sighed in annoyance, before replying, "Oh, this is great! Looks like idiocy is inherent even on dimensional levels! Tch, so damn annoying…"

Rei raised an eyebrow, and looks down in anger, only to find…

…A small sized…girl. About the size of a basketball. She has a lightly tanned skin and blue eyes and can usually be found with a wide, open smile. She has a very, very light blonde hair that is chin length and appears messy. A pair of red and black ear pieces are worn on her small ears. She also wears a black dress with red and white designs on it and a big pink gem at the center. Connected to it are black chained pieces to attach to the jacket worn below her shoulders, which also have white detailing and pink gems. A pair of sharp, bluish-purple wings are attached on her back, and around her right arm is a deep red ribbon. The said girl appears to sit on a floating purple and pink themed book.

"Huh… A small person is…floating in mid-air?! Ah…" Taking a deep breath, Rei closes her eyes, and opens them again, only to find the same little girl floating in front of her.

"Oh…_AAAAAAHHHHHH!" _Rei suddenly screamed at the realization: She is now officially nuts. "Someone, get me a doctor!" Rei adds in a panicked voiced, only for the floating little to come up in front of the panicking Rei's face…

…_And slapped her hard._

"I've been telling you that I'm not a friggin' hallucination for the past ten minutes already! And don't shout like that again! You freaked me out, damn it! Why can't you spend a few minutes to shut up and _LISTEN_ already!" The little floating girl shouted at the top of her lungs, sounding like a chipmunk screaming its last will in the process. Of course, Rei still couldn't believe her eyes…

"O-okay! Wait…Is this actually happening? Um…Just who are you? Do you have business with me?" Rei asked out, only for the floating little girl to rapidly scratch her head with her two hands in frustration before replying.

"Well, _DUH_! Why else would I drag myself out here then? To pop out of your ass and tell you I'm your imaginary best friend who'll listen to your problems?! Of course not, damn it!" Sighing, the little floating girl calms herself down before continuing, "-_She_- asked and I made an exception, so be grateful!"

Rei only tilted her head, "She…? Who…?"

"Oh shut it. I'm supposed to give this to you, since she no longer needs it…For now, she says." The floating little girl brings her tiny hands forward, where a dark colored ball of flames suddenly appeared. Rei only got more confused at the sight…

"Um…Sorry, I don't smoke or anything like that…"

"Of course, this isn't for smoke, ya damn idiot! What are ya gonna try to light up with this, anyway?! A whole truck of tobacco?! Ugh, you know what? Just close your eyes and let me do the job!"

"…Okay…" Still confused, Rei decided to comply, believing that once she opens her eyes, her mind would return to normal…

"Okay. Now open yer mouth!" The little floating girl's voice reached Rei's ears, who only got more confused…

"Huh-?!"

The moment she opened her mouth, Rei suddenly felt something large, long, and hot enter her mouth, shooting straight through her throat.

"Now, now, don't struggle and just swallow it already! You know you like it! Gyahahaha!" The little floating girl's voice resounded throughout the alley, along with Rei's muffled moans…

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, back in Planeptune's Basilicom, or specifically, Neptune's room, Neptune and another purple haired girl appears to be talking. Sitting on the chairs beside the table situated in the middle of the room, both Neptune and the girl had unsatisfied looking faces, but the latter seems to have her source of frustration at the former.<em>

_The other girl's outfit is somewhat similar to Neptune's, but with more reserved styling, almost resembling a school uniform consisting of a white jacket-dress with purple lining consisting of thin double white stripes. A white choker, and around her neck is a pale yellow ribbon/ascot like piece with a stylized N in the center. At her chest is a small pink marking while the pockets and buttons are purple. On her right leg is a white belt like purse object, and she wears pink and white striped socks with white and purple shoes very similar to Neptune's own. In her hair she wears a single direction pad button._

_The said girl is known as Nepgear, the CPU candidate of Planeptune, and is Neptune's younger sister._

"Yuck. Histy is still in a mood. Wanna trudge off to work in a really dissatisfied manner?" Neptune asked Nepgear who's sitting in front of her, who only sighs and closes her eyes as she speaks.

"Dissatisfied. You really do have the dissatisfied look down, Neptune." Nepgear declares in an un-amused manner, causing Neptune to retort in the same manner.

"You noticed?! I mean, yesterday, I worked for the first time in forevers, so I'm all achey-breaky…and smelly, too."

"As a normally functioning person, and not even as a CPU candidate, I think you're pretty whiny…and lazy, to boot. And the reason you're still smelly from yesterday is because you didn't take a bath!" Negear retorted as stress builds up in her head. Seriously, for years on end now, Neptune has been doing nothing but sit on her couch, and play games, much to Nepgear's distress, as the latter had to work AND take care of her sister, who does nothing at all. And to think that Neptune even had the nerve to complain that she's tired even just doing a job for once…Nepgear seriously thought about giving her sister a german suplex. On a floor filled with legos. With pointy tips.

"_Maybe I really have spoiled her too much…_" Nepgear feels the regret of working hard for the first time, now that it has turned her sister into one, useless slob. "_If I keep that up, she might…Okay, fine. Time to give her a taste of what hard work is! Alone! Like how I did!_"

"Oh, I got an awesome compromise! How about you work for me and come report later, Nep Jr.?!" Neptune declares with a carefree, guilt-free smile on her face, which caused Nepgear to put on a glare. Meanwhile, Neptune continues wearing the same carefree expression anyway, "As part of my rehabilitation, it's important for me to just pop into the arcade, and…"

"NO, BAD NEPTUNE! SIT, FIDO!"

"Whoa, what's with you?! Are you, like, actually upset with me?! And who's Fido?!" Neptune asked in surprise as she didn't expect her little sister to react like that. Or to be called Fido.

"If things continue like this, you'll turn into a bad, lazy, unmotivated, useless sister! I must be more strict with you, or else, you'll end up like _Sakata G*ntoki!_" Nepgear angrily declares as she points to her sister. All the stress and frustrations she built up are coming off like water from an open faucet.

"Huh? Whoa, what?! I'll turn into a protagonist who picks his nose at every cutscene and can cut building and laser beams in half with a wooden sword while awesome music plays at the background?! _That's awesome! _Wait, I mean, time out! If you're gonna get tough on me like Histy, what's gonna happen to me?!"

"Maybe you'll know the feeling of doing slave labor for someone lazy?! Oh, and maybe, you'll even get some proper character development on the way?! Like, um, you know, that moment when you'll grow from a 'selfish-and-lazy-heroine-who-only-acts-for-her-own-interests-and-doesn't-seem-to-care-about-anyone-who-isn't-a-hot-chick-younger-than-20-unless-they-have-something-she-likes-and-ruins-serious-moments-for-no-reason' into a true all-loving heroine who knows hardships and is actually loved by everyone?!" Nepgear spouted out, with little to know breathing in between words. Neptune's jaw dropped at those words.

"What in the…were you that stressed, Nep Jr.?"

"LA LA LA LA LA! I can't hear you over the sound of my stress! Go work by yourself today! I'm staying here and read _G*ntama!_" Nepgear says loudly, in an attempt to ignore her sister and get her moving.

"No, no! I'm just sayin'…" Neptune quickly interrupts, in an attempt to defuse her situation, only for Nepgear to counter…effectively. While pulling out a manga from beneath her skirt.

"_HA HA HA HA HA! G*ntoki _ran out of toilet paper while taking a dump inside the enemy camp! _HA HA HA HA HA!_" Nepgear laughed dryly after opening the_ Sho*nen J*mp _manga entitled _G*ntama, _while not looking at her sister. Neptune had a look of despair on her face. Nepgear unwilling to work can only mean one thing…

…Looks like Neptune is going to work today.

"_Ow, my ears. I have no choice then. When Nepgear makes up her mind, any attempt to make her do otherwise is bogus. Poor ol' me, having to work today…_" Neptune sighed at the realization, and just decided to ready herself for work.

"Okay, Nep Jr. I understand. I'll do my best today. I'll be back later…" Neptune says while looking at Nepgear, who still keeps on ignoring her sister…

"_LA LA LA LA LA!_"

"Yeah, yeah, you're good at singing those…notes. Buh-bye!" With that, Neptune regretfully leaves the Basilicom. With everyone urging her to move out, she has no choice but to comply, or else they'll just get more upset.

Looks like today isn't her day, Neptune muses.

"LAADEEEDAAAAA!"

Negear's '_cries_' echoed all throughout the Basilicom halls…

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, at the same time, inside the Ryghts Residence of the Otose's Snackbar and Apartment Building…<em>

_Reiji is sitting on the couch, reading the latest issue of the Sho*nen J*mp manga, entitled G*ntama, while listening to the song "__**Tougenkyou Alien**__" by the band __**Serial TV Drama**__ in his headphones. He laughs hard as he reads through the pages of the manga…_

"… ! Who the freaking hell takes a shit in a toilet stall in the middle of the enemy camp?! To think he didn't bring toilet paper with him too!…Man, this is like reading Rour*ni Kensh*n on LSD! Seriously, this is just too much…Wait, is he gonna wipe his ass with sand paper?!"

Suddenly, the door of the residence opens with a loud thud, causing Reiji to take off his headphones in reflex and check out the front door.

"Mom?! What happened to you?!" Reiji rushed towards the door as Rei stumbled forward, and the former was able to catch his mother before she could slam her face to the floor. Rei's face, at the same time, was sweating hard…

_-Music Cue: "She was like a Sunflower" from MOTHER 3-_

"Reiji…You're back home…" Rei tiringly but happily states as she looked at her worried son, who decides to check on Rei's condition real quick.

"I'll always come home, no matter how late, you know. I'm sorry for worrying you. Now…" Reiji puts a hand on his mother's forehead, and felt her temperature is higher than normal as Reiji suddenly retracted his hand out of the extreme heat from his mother's forehead.

"Mom, you're burning up! Better get you to bed first and let you rest." Carrying his mother bridal style, Reiji quickly rushes to Rei's room, and gently places her on the bed.

"I'll get you a moist towel for you, so just relax over there, okay?" Reiji says with a smile as he turns his back towards Rei and heads for the door. Rei could only look tiringly and regretfully at the back of her son…

"_I'm sorry. You've just returned from danger, and you still ended up doing the work here…I'm sorry. I'm really pathetic, aren't I?_"

A few minutes later, Reiji comes back with a moist towel and a small bucket of cool water. Reiji then proceeds to place the towel on his mother's head, who's still burning up. After waiting for a few minutes and before replacing the towel, Reiji checked his mother's temperature once more.

"It's not going down at all…" Reiji sighed worriedly as he looks at his mother's sick form, who has a look of worry herself. Reiji then proceeds to change his expression into a warm smile as he saw the looks on Rei's face, as he does not intend to worry her more as she is already sick, and more stress could only slow her recovery.

"Well, it's decided." Reiji declares out of the blue as Rei looked at him with curiosity, "Since I'm the only healthy person here, I'll go and get the medicine from the pharmacy. So, which means that your job today is to just rest and relax, okay?" Reiji reminds his mother before leaving the room, making sure that she does not do something drastic. Rei silently nods, before closing her eyes.

Reiji couldn't help it. Especially after remembering that one time a few years ago when Rei, having a similar fever, still forced herself and still went to see Reiji off as he went into a training camp during his years as a Velvet Knight trainee. However, just as he was about to leave, Reiji saw his mother collapse of exhaustion, which alerted Reiji, as he was unaware at that time that his mother was sick, and yet, she still wanted to make sure that her son leaves the city safely.

It was after this incident that Reiji learned the meaning of caring for others, but in turn, it also made him more…attached to Rei. Hence, the reason why most people who are close to Reiji would often call him 'The mama's boy', which in turn, would earn them a fist to the face…

Shaking off the memories in his head, Reiji proceeds to place _Shin-Zantetsu_ on the leather accent on his back, and leaves the apartment in haste…

_-Music Fades-_

* * *

><p><em>A few minutes later, at the Planeptune Pharmacy…<em>

"What?! Did you just actually say…" A vein plopped on Reiji's fore head as he proceeds to continue the question, "You guys ran out of medicine?!"

"I'm really sorry, sir! It's just that…" The pharmacy worker quickly explains the situation, "The goddess hasn't signed the delivery letter for the next stock for weeks already…so we can't order new medicines on our own. Although, we could still make shift for some fever medicines if someone delivers us ingredients, at least."

Reiji's ears perked up, which caused him to quickly ask out, "Say, what's the ingredient you need?" Sweat was already flowing down Reiji's face as he voiced out his question, a sign that he really does need to hurry.

The pharmacy worker quickly takes a piece of paper from under the counter, and reads out…

"Ah, here it is! Thank goodness it was only one ingredient missing…" The worker says in relief as she proceeds to tell Reiji, "The missing ingredient is called _Moonlight Herbs,_ found around the Virtua Forest Safe Zone." Right after the worker said that, Reiji quickly dashes out from the pharmacy, leaving a surprised pharmacy worker and some customers…

* * *

><p>Running as fast as his feet can take him, Reiji finally arrives at the midst of Virtua Forest, as shown by the gigantic trees and the surrounding plant life…<p>

"Wew. Now, time to look for that herb…" As Reiji took a step forward, a familiar voice disrupts his hearing, alerting him and causing him to follow its source…

"Ah…Ahn!"

Slowly and stealthily proceeding towards the voice, Reiji quickly dashes behind a tree, and peeks from its side…

What filled Reiji's eyes made him jaw-drop and blush hard at the same time; In the middle of the forest was Neptune, slowly but steadily getting piled on by gangs of what looked like little blue gel-like creatures that resemble a big teardrop and seem to be mixed with either a dog or raccoon. They consist of brown up-point ears, black button eyes and brown nose on a small circular tan muzzle. They also have rounded raccoon-like tails. Some of them are even…licking Neptune at various…unmentionable parts. Her voice is quite loud and clear, with her words causing Reiji to blush harder as he continued observing from behind the tree…

"N-no! Not there! It tickles! Aha…hahaha! I'll die laughing at this rate! Ahahaha! N-no! Ah! Ah, ah, ahn!"

"…I've watched too much unspeakable things to know where this is going…No, wait, this isn't the time for that crap! I must get in there and…" Reiji unsurely looks at Neptune's situation again, and gives himself a long sigh, before gripping and readying _Shin-Zantetsu _in a battle stance, "…Get rid of those slime…_things_. Forgive me, Lady Neptune, I have no choice, but, this is gonna hurt a bit on your side!"

_-Music Cue: "Encounter" from Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core-_

Blue colored flame-like energy surrounds _Shin-Zantetsu _and Reiji's right arm which held the sword before Reiji quickly declares in a low, hushed voice, "_Cyclone Edge!_" Reiji then swings _Shin-Zantetsu_ twice in an X formation in front of him, which causes the blue colored energy from the sword to flail about and get off from the blade, and turn into a large, azure colored tornado in front of Reiji.

The spinning mass of wind then proceeds towards the Dogoos and Neptune at high speed and connects, blasting them off high into the air with great force, with the soft Dogoos obliterated into blue colored pixels, and Neptune…spinning in mid-air as she descends…

"Uwawawawah! I'm spiiiiinnniiiiing! And flyiiiiiinnnnnng! And I'm about to _huuuuuurrrrrrrlllll_!" Netune shouted loud, despite spinning continuously in mid-air. Reiji, however, is already en route to catching her as he runs as fast as he can towards the goddess, and…

…He succeeds, catching a blue-faced Neptune in his arms.

Putting Neptune gently onto the ground, Reiji decides to ask about Neptune's situation, "…Are you fatally hurt anywhere, Lady Neptune…?" Her blue face may already be selling it off, but Reiji had to ask, out of concern. Neptune, of course, replies in her usual honest way…

"BLLLAAAARRGH!"

…With a good, long, puking. Fortunately, she aimed it in the direction opposite to Reiji's, much to the knight's surprise and relief…

After a relieving her stomach and sense of balance, Neptune turns towards Reiji, and proceeds to scold him.

"Ok, seriously, like, _what the hell_ was that for, Mr. Protagonist?!" Neptune says while raising her voice in an angered manner while pouting her cheeks, "That really hurt, Rei-Rei! You shouldn't go freely blasting off other characters, especially the main heroine, with regular _Techs_ just because you're the main protagonist this time around! We have feelings too, ya know! This means demerit on the Affection points for you! Hmph!" Neptune pouts again, this time turning her head to the side while crossing her arms in a childish manner.

"…What the hell do you mean by main protago-I mean, I apologize. About the tornado thing…" Reiji says in an apologetic manner while bowing down, before continuing, "But, as you can see, Lady Neptune, I, uhh…Had no other way to get you out of that situation…And other than that, ending things quickly was the best idea at the time. Again, I'm really sorry about that." Reiji says as he scratched his head.

"_And besides, if I just simply jumped in there, I would have been also overtaken by those Dogoos…And that's not a good sight. Guys are not in for bukka-err, slimy fan service, after all. They will just give the readers trauma and despair rather than hopes and dreams!_" Reiji thought as he watched Neptune sigh and put on a smiling face, which was her usual face.

"Okay then! Since you sincerely apologized, you're forgiven! Just don't do that again! And because of that, you've successfully recovered 10 Affection points! Woohoo!" Neptune cheerily declares as she points at Reiji, who shrugs, and was about to ask what Neptune meant by 'Affection points'…

…When a loud howling from nearby interrupts their conversation.

"Lady Neptune…Let's save that part for later!" Reiji shouts, readying his weapon in the process. Neptune had a knowing on her face and also summons her weapon in a beam of light in her hands, which then dissipates into becoming a normal, sheathed Katana.

"Alright! Come out, random encounters! The mighty, unstoppable, and sexy heroine Neptune shall cut you to pieces! _HORA!_" Neptune provokingly shouts as she unsheathes her Katana, and also places herself on a battle stance. Reiji could only look and reply in confusion.

"What's up with those self-proclaimed traits?!"

"Eh?! You wound me deeply by those cruel words, Rei-Rei!"

"Well…The truth is certainly _cruel!_"

"…You just made that up! *_Sob_*"

"You're crying now?!"

Ignoring the bickering, three creatures appeared from behind the surrounding trees. They appeared to be wolves, having a thick, gray fur, and a golden mane around the area surrounding the back of their head and neck.

Reiji's eyebrow twitched as he recognized the monsters from his studies back in the Knight training facility in Planeptune.

"Fenrirs…" Reiji mutters as he proceeds to call out at Netune, "Lady Neptune, be careful. These furry _douches_-err, _canines_ are speed type monsters. Let's be careful!"

"No need to remind me, Rei-Rei!"

"It's not Rei-Rei. It's Reiji!"

Within a split second, the three fenrirs quickly charged towards the two. One of them advanced forward afar before the others, heading for Reiji, and attempts to tackle him down. However, Reiji quickly counters with a fast, rising swing that sent the fenrir upwards as _Shin-Zantetsu _hits the monster right below the head. Reiji quickly followed with a heavy, powerful horizontal swing as the fenrir fell down, cleaving the creature in half before disintegrating into blue pixels. Another fenrir then approaches at fast speeds towards Reiji.

"Hah! You're open, rover!"

However, the monster gets quickly intercepted by Neptune, who sends the creature upwards with a rising slash. Neptune quickly follows up with a jump, and performs multiple horizontal slashes on the monster in mid-air, before finishing it with a powerful descending downward slash, cleaving the fenrir in half.

"Alright, next!"

As if on cue to the call, the last fenrir quickly dashes and jumps towards Neptune, who quickly guards with her sword. This causes the fenrir to end up biting the bladed part of Neptune's Katana, allowing the goddess to push back the creature by kicking the monster's open stomach, causing it to be knocked down on the ground in pain.

"Rei-Rei, now!"

"On it!"

Without wasting time, Reiji quickly jumps high into the air, before his whole body and sword is wrapped up in a blue colored, flame-like energy.

"Here's your treat, _Fido! Almagest Slam!_" Reiji roared as he performs a heavy, powerful descending slash towards the fallen fenrir. An explosion of bright, blue energy occurs as Reiji slams down _Shin-Zantetsu _onto the monster, which in turn, sent dust flying all over.

The dust clears, showing Reiji spinning his sword a few times before sheathing it onto the leather accent on his back. Meanwhile, Neptune's katana just fades into white light as she runs towards Reiji…

_-Music Fades-_

"Did you see that?! We were awesome!" Neptune cheerily declares as she jumps up and down in victory, while Reiji just gives off a light smile.

"Okay, okay…Wait." Remembering the reason he got into the forest, Reiji quickly attempts to leave, only to be stopped by Neptune, who grabs the knight by his right arm.

"Eh? Where are ya going? Don't tell me you'll just be leaving the beautiful and vulnerable me out here!"

"Ah…I'm sorry about that, Lady Neptune. But you see…" Reiji Quickly explains the purose of his journey into the Virtua Forest, which was to get _Moonlight Herbs _for the pharmacy, so that he could have them make fever medicine for his mother, who got sick. Neptune's ears perked up as Reiji finished speaking.

"Ah! I think I picked up some of those a while ago! Wait a minute there…" Neptune seems to grab something from the pockets of her jacket, and takes out a disc-like object with a small, green button in the middle. Neptune presses the button, which then caused the said disc in her hands to project a hologram menu, where Neptune proceeds to press a few buttons.

A few seconds later, bright light erupts from the disc, and after it disappears, a bunch of glowing green grass, neatly tied up, is now in Neptune's left hand, while the disc from earlier appears to be on her right, which she quickly returns inside her pockets. Neptune then proceeds to hand over the glowing grass to Reiji…

"Here, Rei-Rei!" Neptune cheerfully says as she hands over the _Moonlight grass _to Reiji, who looked hesitant to accept it.

"Are…you sure about this, Lady Neptune? I mean…It's your own loot, after all."

"Of course! The citizen's safety and healthy well-being is the responsibility of a CPU, ya know! It's totally normal for me to do things like this! So chill out and grab the grasses already." Neptune says in a warm tone, albeit not losing the cheery nature in which she speaks. Hearing the confirmation, Reiji accepts the grass from the goddess' hands.

"Thank you, Lady Neptune. This is the second time you helped me out. I won't forget my debt, I promise." Reiji says in a thankful, serious manner, which somehow surprised Neptune, who waves her hands in front of her.

"It's cool, it's cool! I told you, maintaining the people's smiles and health is the CPU's job, remember?"

"Very well then. I guess I'll be heading back…" Reiji says as he turns his back, which Neptune follows right after. Reiji, surprised, decides to ask.

"Umm…Didn't you had something to do back here?"

"Nope, I'm done, actually! I was just messing around when a bunch of Dogoos got me while I was napping it off behind that tree over there!"

"You…You were _WHAT?!_"

"…Oops, it slipped."

"You know what? I don't wanna know any more than that." Reiji says as he looks away from Neptune, who tilts her head at Reiji's reaction.

"Oh? Aren't you curious of what the mighty ol' me did for a job?"

"…No. Not interested."

"Eh?! How could you say that so casually?! Hmph!" Neptune pouted as she crosses her arms, while Reiji just kept walking beside her and sighs. However, just as he was expecting a long, quiet walk back to Planptune, Neptune starts talking again.

"Oh, and speaking of jobs, Rei-Rei," With a finger on her chin and a look on curiosity on her face, Neptune asks the Knight beside her, "Why did you became a Knight for Planeptune? I mean, I know most of you guys say that you wanted to protect the nation and stuff, but, that's the job description on paper, not their true motives! So, yeah, Rei-Rei, can you tell me your objective for going Knightey? I mean, you could have chosen an easier job with the same payment, like, a businessman or something like that…"

"Well, I guess you could say that the reason for my joining the knights is…something personal, I guess." Reiji begins to exlain, "You see, ever since I was a kid, I've always been fascinated by those guys with awesome weapons and heroic acts. And the Velvet Knights were always number one in my list." Looking up at the sky, Reiji then continued to explain, "Especially the heroes of the Console Wars on Planeptune's side. You know, the four-man-army called _Kiheitai_, who consisted of the four legendary 1st Class Knights who successfully defended Planeptune's Borders back then…"

As Reiji kept talking, Neptune only had a look of intrigue on her face, and kept listening. Having fought only her fellow goddess during the Console Wars, she never knew about what happened with the nations below…

Meanwhile, with an inspired look on his face, Reiji continues, "Apparently, the _Kiheitai _consisted of the four legendary 1st-Class Velvet Knights Planeptune produced, and each one of them had a ranked title, too. The first Knight that I've known, who's mostly known for his long, flowing silver hair and long sword being stained with the blood of many enemies, giving enemies the sight of what heaven's wrath is supposed to be; the Knight named Sephiroth, known as the _One Winged Angel_, his most famous feat being able to actually stop one of the goddesses of the opposing nations from even stepping into Planeptune's borders. By himself, on that note. The next one after him, known all throughout the wartime for his skill on swordsmanship and his very high regard for a Knight's honor, his very sight encouraging an honorable fight to the death for both friend and foe; he is called Angeal Hewley, _The Sword of Shining Honor_. The third one, famous for his burning red blade and coat, and most notably, his unfading elegance as he cuts down foes on the battlefield; the man called Genesis Rhapsodos, the _Crimson Noble of Terror_…"

"Whoah…They were actually around?! How come I never see 'em inside the Basilicom?!" Neptune complained, earning her a small laugh from Reiji…

"Okay, okay. Two of them went into retirement, while one chose to become a mentor for the Knights after the war. Now, do you wanna hear about the last legendary knight?"

"Okie-dokie. Tell me about 'im!"

Hearing Neptune's reply, Reiji looks up at the sky again, with another inspired look on his face, "Well, the last _Kiheitai_, known for his fearsome skills with the broadsword and his valiant sacrifice during the last part of the war, was known to be a man of indomitable spirit, facing even the greatest dangers of war with an undying optimism and big smile, even during his final moments. The man known as Zack Fair, or as he was called; _The Hero_. You see, during the last parts of the war, where Planptune's defenses were pierced with an ambush, Zack was the only available member of the _Kiheitai _left in Planeptune, as the other members were busy defending the other borders. To make matters worse, the only defenses left were a few soldiers, as the others were sent for the offensive. Reinforcements were en route, but, it still wouldn't have made it in time. So, even when he was the only one left, Zack takes up his blade, and faces the combined army of Lastation and Lowee, by himself. And by the time reinforcements had arrived, only seven enemy soldiers were left standing, and were promptly finished by the reinforcements on the spot…"

"Woah, for real?! A human did that?! That's…ridiculous! What happened to Zack, then?" Neptune asked with a face of anticipation, while Reiji just kept a straight face as he continued.

"Well…he succumbed to his wounds acuumulated during the fight, and…died."

"…Oh." Neptune had a slight look of…grieving as she heard the last part.

"It is said that his belongings were taken by one of his close friends from the _Kiheitai_, and sent it to his 'family'. Apparently, this 'family' was said to be a woman that he was about to marry, should Zack had survived the war. The part about the woman is just a rumor though, since it was never revealed who the woman was, nor does Zack's close friends from the _Kiheitai _are willing to reveal it."

"…That's just…sad. Especially if he _did_ have a woman he proposed to, right?" Neptune, surprisingly out of character, gave off that comment. Reiji simply nods his head in agreement to Neptune's words. And for some reason after that, Neptune had this…regretful look in her eyes.

"I agree. Which is why I became a Knight, a hero, becoming an ally of justice myself; I want to protect the peace of my nation, so that, in the end, everyone will be able to smile, to be happy. No one will have to die anymore…" Reiji declared with determination as he balled his hands into fists. Neptune could see the seriousness in his eyes, and silently agrees.

"I'll root for ya on that, then, Rei-Rei! But for now, let's get that medicine for your mom, alright?" Neptune suddenly declares, making Reiji snap out of his serious state, and nod.

"Yeah, I guess we should. And thanks, Lady Neptune."

"Hehe. You're welcome, Rei-Rei!"

"It's not Rei-Rei. It's Reiji."

The two continued to walk silently as they headed towards the path to Planeptune…

* * *

><p><em>After going through the pharmacy and getting the medicine concocted, Reiji decides to quickly head home. However, as he was about to do so, someone else comes along for the ride…<em>

"I'm home!"

Reiji's voice echoed throughout the entrance of the house, where he enters. However, unlike the usual sound of a closing door right after the greeting, another voice followed up instead…

"I'm home, mother!"

Neptune's voice echoed around the entrance halls, much to the surprise of Reiji, who quickly retorts in a loud voice.

"What the hell are you saying, Lady Neptune?!"

Neptune only tilted her head in confusion at Reiji's words, before replying openly and loud, "Eh? What are you talking about, Rei-Rei? Isn't it, like, normal for the main heroine to do that? I mean, the story's default route usually ends up like that, so, come on! You don't have to be so embarrassed!" Neptune puts her arms behind her head in a carefree manner as she finished speaking, only for Reiji to palm his face in embarrassment.

Not wanting nearby people and the neighbors to get the wrong idea, Reiji quickly replies to Neptune's statement, "Please, Lady Neptune. People who'll hear that might get the wrong idea and get us into trouble, so please, stop that! And besides, the voting poll for the endgame heroine hasn't been set up yet, so don't go declaring yourself the default route!"

"Huh?! For realz?! Damn you, author! Still aiming for that Noire route, aren't ya?!

Reiji sighs, knowing that he has no choice but to deal with the goddess and her…eccentric antics during her stay in his home. But still, a guest is a guest, and he'd better play the part of the good host.

"Please follow me, Lady Neptune." Reiji says as he beckons towards Neptune, who obeys right after. Leading her to the living room of the apartment, Reiji then gestures towards one of the sofas placed in the said room. Other than that, there was also a TV and a player known as _Blu-Light Player _stationed beneath it.

"Please, take a sit over that couch for a while. I'll prepare tea shortly after I've given mother the medicine…"

"Sure thing, Rei-Rei!"

"It's not Rei-Rei. It's Reiji!"

Heading straight into the kitchen, Reiji takes a glass and fills it with clean, drinking water. After that, he also proceeds to take out a disc with a button in the middle, just like Neptune's earlier. Reiji presses the button, and a small, bright light emerges from it. The light disappears after a few seconds, leaving a small bottle filled with white colored tablets.

Reiji then proceeds to take both the bottle of medicine and the glass of water, and proceeds to his mother's room…

* * *

><p>A pair of knocks rang at Rei's door, causing her to open her eyes. Proceeding to place herself in a sitting position, Rei then watches the door as it opens.<p>

"Um, I'm going in, mom."

Reiji declared as he fully opens the door, holding a small tray containing the glass of water and the bottle of medicine. Rei tilts her head in concern as her son approaches…

"Say, Reiji, you took quite a while. Did something happen?" Rei asks with concern, only for Reiji to shake his head before replying.

"No. Not really. It's just that the pharmacy ran out of stock, so I had to go and gather the ingredients for them to make it. The goddess helped me too, so I had no problems…"

"By goddess…You mean…The CPU of Planeptune?" Rei asked with a hint of hesitation and fear in her voice, which Reiji didn't seem to notice. Placing the medicine on the table beside his mother's bed, Reiji begins to speak as he opens the medicine bottle.

"Well, I met her at the entrance, doing some monster clearing, and I decided to help out. She actually has the ingredient on her hand, so she gave me that as her token of gratitude right after the fight. I guess this is the second time she's helped me out…Hahaha…" Reiji scratched his head while putting on a goofy smile, before handing over the opened medicine bottle and the glass of water…

"I…I see…Thank you."

Rei takes a tablet from the medicine bottle and puts it in her mouth, before following up with a drink of water from the glass Reiji handed her…

"Well, since you're done, I guess I could go and entertain our guest at the living room now." Reiji declares as he takes the emptied glass of water and the small tray, leaving the now closed medicine bottle on the table beside Rei's bed.

"Guest…? Oh…That's right…There was a voice of a girl from earlier..." Rei tilts her head as she tried to think up of many possibilities of who the said visitor is, only knowing that it is a girl. Then, an idea made itself known in her head as she smiled at Reiji, "Say, Reiji…Did you finally get a girlfriend? I know this isn't the first time you brought a girl home, but, I don't remember you bringing in someone whom you didn't tell me about the day before. Ufufufu…"

Reiji's face suddenly lit up in red, before suddenly waving his hands hysterically in front of himself, "W-what?! No, it isn't like that, mom! My guest today is, um, special! And, I, uh, would like you to meet her! And, no, it's not Saori!" Sweat is obviously pouring down like bullets around Reiji's face, much to Rei's amusement. Judging from her son's reactions, it indeed might be possible that he did found someone…

"Eh, really? So it IS a girlfriend!" Rei happily chirps, making Reiji palm his overly red face. Deciding that the only way to make his mother believe him is solid evidence, Reiji makes a decision.

"Ugh, fine! I'm bringing her in here." Reiji says while pointing at Rei, "You'd better stay there, alright?! I'll prove to you that I seriously didn't bring any girlfriends today!" And with that, Reiji turns his back on his mother, and leaves the room in a reddened face. Rei could only giggle in amusement at her son's actions. It would seem that he still has a long way to go when it comes to dealing with the opposite gender, after all…Rei could only hope that she'd at least see her grandchildren before she gets too old to see properly…

A few minutes later, Reiji comes back, with another person in tow, much to Rei's excitement. However, as soon as she saw the other person enter her room with Reiji…

…Her eyes were filled with terror.

"Well, mom, here she is." Reiji, now having calmed down, gestures proudly towards Neptune as he continues to speak, "Mom, meet Lady Neptune, the CPU of our very nation! And Lady Neptune," Reiji then proceeds to look at Neptune before gesturing proudly towards Rei, "Meet, Rei Ryghts, my mother, and the very person who has helped me become one of your honored Knights!"

"Wow, you were right, Rei-Rei! You actually look a freaking lot like her! Kind of, like, a genetic inheritance thing! Well, except for the hair style, anyway." After saying that to Reiji, Neptune quickly turns towards Rei. "Well then, nice to meet finally meet you," Neptune bows with a smile on her face, before looking up again and continuing to speak in a cheerful manner, "…Future mother-in-law!"

As soon as Neptune said that, Rei and Reiji could only stare at the goddess, processing her words…

A few seconds passed after that, before realization just hit the minds of mother and son.

"_**WHAT?!**_" Both Reiji and Rei screamed, much to Neptune's surprise, who just simply tilts her head in confusion, before speaking up.

"Eh? What are you two so surprised for? I mean, so far, only Rei-Rei is the only guy who got to score intimate affection points with me! And besides, only Rei-Rei has the proper visual qualification, with the additional bishounen looks, to boot! All of them other guys are just, you know, silhouettes?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't go spouting off nonsense like that! I've been telling that to you ever since you entered this apartment!" Reiji quickly intervenes in panic, which only confused Neptune further, which also appeared to be the case for Rei.

"S-s-s-scored?! I-i-i-i-intimate affection?! With a CPU?! Don't tell me…" Rei's face could only glow red at the images popping out of her imagination as her brain made up a lot of possible results from those two words she just heard. Then, suddenly, tears were suddenly flowing out of her eyes as she turns towards her son, "…You were a lolicon after all this time?! W-w-w-w-where did I go wrong in raising you?! I…I don't even know what to do anymore! What do I tell your father?!"

Multiple veins plopped out of Reiji's forehead as he begins to slowly…snap.

"Don't go saying misleading things like that, would you?!" Reiji snaps at Neptune, much to her surprise. After that, Reiji quickly turns towards Rei, and says, "And you, mom, of all people, should know that I'm not a lolicon! I mean, you raised me yourself! I turned out to be a healthy, passionate young man! In any case, any of my later traits would be your fault!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I was just…uhh…teasing you! Aha…ahahaha!" Rei quickly replies with an attempted laugh, only for Reiji to palm his face before sighing. Meanwhile, Neptune just tilts her head again, and looks at the seemingly tired Reiji…before speaking.

"So, since you don't like little girls…Does that mean you're actually into older women?"

"What kind of logic is that?! For your information, _ . . !_ Although I wouldn't mind them being a year younger or something…"

"Then…_-Gasp- _Don't tell me…You're one of those '_into_ _little sisters_' type?!"

"…And where did that come from?! The internep?! And since when were little sisters involved in this? I only said I wouldn't mind younger girls!"

The knight and the goddess started to bicker, with Rei watching the latter with a cautious look. It seems that, within the span of three days, the goddess doesn't seem to recognize her. For Rei, this is a relief, but, at the same time, it also means another addition into her difficulties. Not only that she will be recognized as Reiji's mother the next time she might be caught on her anti-CPU campaign, which might lead to her son's arrest on charges of possible betrayal and might humiliate his reputation, but, there's also the fact that Reiji really does seem to get along with the CPU of Planeptune…

Rei could only look down in despair. What is she supposed to do? Will she sacrifice her son's dreams for her own? Even if it is for his own benefit and safety in the possible future? Rei could not decide…As her heart is torn between aiming for the future safety of her child, or just let him go through his dream and…watch him smile.

"_Oh, my, you're actually confused? Tsk, tsk, look! That bitch is in front of you!_" A familiar voice suddenly rings in Rei's head, much to her shock and surprise. She tries to see if there's anyone else other than her Reiji, and Neptune in the room, but there was none…

However, the mysterious familiar voice, in a malicious tone, just continues speaking inside Rei's mind, "_And here I thought Croire said that you are the one with the 'blazing balls'._ _What are you hesitating for?! Just do it! Don't you wanna make sure Reiji is safe and sound? Come on!_"

With the voice starting to freak her out, Rei Decided to reply, but, as if silenced from the outside, she could only hear her voice from inside her head.

"_But I…What am I supposed to do?! What do you mean by 'Just do it'?! I'm just a normal human. I…don't have anything. I can't do anything, not with Reiji watching!_"

"…_Croire gave you the power, but not the instructions to use it, am I not right? Tch, damn that fairy on LSD, screwing shit up on the wrong places!_" The voice insides Rei's head intensifies, causing her to feel slight aches in the head, "_Well then, why not allow me to do this? You can watch, too, you know? Just let those hateful instincts take over…_" As soon as the mysterious voice said that, Rei suddenly felt numb all over. It was as if, someone was…overtaking her body. She could not even move her fingers by her own will.

"_Now then, engrave this sensation onto your body…But first, let's get your lovely little boy of the front row seats, alright? I can't afford to harm him, you know, or else, I'll be sad too!_" The mysterious voice declares in a malicious tone just like earlier…

"Umm…Reiji? Can your mom ask a favor?" Rei suddenly intervenes the bickering of Reiji and Neptune, causing the both of them to look at Rei herself. Meanwhile, Rei just continues, "Could you leave me with Lady Neptune alone for a while? I need to…clarify something with her, you see…"

"Eh?!" Neptune was the first to reply, with a shocked face, "Are we…going to talk about the wedding plans?! You should have told me! I could bring in Histy for additional tips, you know!"

"Don't go jumping into conclusions like that!" Reiji retorts loudly, complete with veins plopping on his forehead. After that, he proceeds to turn his attention towards his mother, "…Okay. I'll be just outside if you guys need anything, okay? I'll prepare tea, or coffee, or whatever." With that, Reiji proceeds to turn his back to the two, and leaves the room. As soon as he left, Neptune turns towards Rei, who had an unreadable expression on her face…

"So, what do you want to know about me, mother-in-law?" Neptune asks in a cheerful tone, unaware of the slowly dissipating glow of sanity in Rei's eyes…

* * *

><p>Coming out of the door of Rei's room, Reiji quickly closes it before taking a deep breath.<p>

"_-Sigh- _Well, that was…tiring. Well, whatever. Might as well prepare the tea…"

Going towards the kitchen once more, Reiji proceeds to find a kettle, wash it, fill it with water, and heat it unto a lit stove. Deducing that it might take a while, Reiji decides to read manga on the couch while waiting…with his sword situated beside the couch.

"Man…I wonder when will the next issued for Shoun*n J*mp will arrive? Can't be too careful during Saturdays…" Reiji lazily comments as he read on. However, this peaceful relaxation didn't last long…

"Gyaa! Help! Help me!"

…As a sudden scream resounds from Rei's room.

"Huh? That voice!" Grabbing his sword and placing it unto his back, Reiji rushes into the room, kicking its door open in the process.

"What the hell?"

Reiji could only say those three words at the sight in front of him…

Inside the room is Neptune, of course. But in the same room is something else as well.

It was a gigantic, large, black hole in reality, and to make matters worse, only Neptune's right hand is visible from the outside, signifying the need for help.

"Lady Neptune! Hang on!" Out of reflex, Reiji hastily grabs Neptune's hand…

…And ends up getting sucked into the hole himself, as the power of gravity wasn't enough to keep him on the ground.

"You've gotta be kidding me! Oh shi-!"

Before he could finish, however, the hole completely sucks him in with Neptune, and closes up as the both of them are fully consumed…

…Leaving a shocked Rei in the room.

"No…It can't be…What have I done…?!" Rei muttered, grabbing her hair in the process. She looks in front of her again, and sees neither the goddess nor her son.

"No…no…_NNNNNNOOOOOO!_"

Tears are overflowing from her eyes as Rei screamed. And she screamed some more, knowing one painful truth…

…That she is the one who made her son disappear. That it was her fault.

…That she probably killed her only family left.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Well, there we go. I hope you enjoyed!<strong>_

_**Notes:**_

_**Kiheitai – When translated, it literally means 'Army of Demon Soldiers' **_

_**Shirou and Shiki – These two are from Type-Moon's Fate/Stay night and Tsukihime, respectively. Believe me, they're both harem protagonists.**_

_**And just in case you guys are wondering who the hell is this "Saori" Reiji mentioned during his conversation with Rei in her room, Saori is actually one of the new characters in 'Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart'. She's a reference to Shiori Fujisaki from Tokimeki Memorial.**_

_**And also, Shounen Jump and two of its releases, the manga/anime Gintama and Rurouni Kenshin, are also referenced.**_

_**Oh, and no, there isn't going to be any poll for the 'endgame heroine'. So which means that the main heroine of this story will remain...a mystery. For you guys. Ufufufu...**_

_**Till next time!**_


End file.
